Touchdown Turnaround
by Pseudonym Powers Activate
Summary: Football!Rachel. Rachel turns out to be surprisingly good at football, so much so that Beiste keeps her on after the half. Why would this have anything to do with a certain Latina pacing the sidelines like a caged panther. And why on earth did she faint. Also... Who broke Finn's Jaw. One shot


**Another one I wrote a while ago. I'm leaving the original ANs in for posterity sake I guess.**

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**Okay guys. Here's my second foray into the world of fanfiction. Play nice. If you like it please tell me. Even if it's a simple "I liked it" I promise it will make my day. Also, I obviously don't own glee. Sad but I'm afraid it's true. Probably for the best though honestly.**

**I've always been a firm believer of Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong, will. I'm toying with the idea of doing a whole series of these one shots with Murphy's laws as prompts. Here's the first one.**

**The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it - Murphy's Law**

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The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it

At this present moment, one Rachel Berry wanted to find this Murphy... and kill him. Then disprove his theory. Rachel Berry doesn't do rain, unless it's Singing in the Rain (she's secretly wanted to kiss in the rain too, it just seems so romantic in the movies). Though even then it's in the comfort of her bedroom, under the gentle weight of her comforter with a bowl of popcorn sitting pleasantly in her lap. Yet here she found herself, mud caking her legs from the shin down, on the football field with a tsunami (she's sure) bearing down on them.

What could have possibly have possessed her to join something as barbaric and knuckle headed as the Football Team.

Oh yeah, that's right. Thought Rachel. Santana said I couldn't.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing Dwarf? We have to go out there and perform the half-time in 5 minutes. Why the hell are you still wide as you are tall? Take the damn pads off!" Santana screeched at Rachel. She didn't think the situation caused for quite so much yelling, but Santana needed to disguise the slack jawed silence that had been her persona since she walked into the girls locker room. No one was to know what an impact seeing the "Dwarf" in full football uniform had had on her libido.

"Don't you think I don't know that!" Rachel's reply had just as much volume. "For some inconceivable reason, Coach Bieste deems it of utmost importance that I am to be included in the rest of the game. Despite the rest of the team's vehemence that that is certainly not the case. I guess I understand their reticence, my stature is much slighter than that of the average football player. Slighter than the average female's as well if I'm to be completely honest..."

"Manhands, I swear-"

"Honored as I am to be considered an asset to the team I am as yet undecided about how I feel about performing the half still in the uniform. There isn't ample time, however, to get changed after the half time show back into uniform so I guess I -"

"Hobbit!"

"-will just have to bite the metaphorical bullet and surrender my feminine attire for this performance. Only for this performance though, that goes without saying. Just because I find myself of the front lines of-"

"Are you even breathing still?"

"-the football team doesn't mean I will be adopting a deeper vocal tone or a patriotic, bordering on absurd, view on sports-"

"Rachel!" By this last outburst Santana had grasped Rachel by the shoulder(pads) and forcefully stopped her from pacing. "Will you just shut the hell up? It's exhausting just watching you, let alone deciphering even a word of what you just said. Wheezy, you're up. What the HELL is going on in this place? I see Berry in a football jersey of all things, with grass stains on her knees and she's even crazier than normal." Without meaning to, Santana was getting more and more hysterical with each syllable she uttered. By the end she was essentially shouting for the second time in as many minutes in her quest for someone to make some sense for two seconds.

Meanwhile, Tina and Mercedes were just happy that Rachel seemed to be calming slightly under Santana's hands. That does not mean, however, that they hadn't stored that nugget of information away for later scrutiny.

"Well, as it turns out, Rach here has an eye for football." It was Tina who answered Santana, Mercedes was busy giving both her and Rachel an appraising gaze; Santana's hands were still placed firmly but gently on Rachel's shoulders.

"Please tell me you're joking. That this is just some elaborate hoax you girls came up with to pay us back for almost ditching you bitches." Santana seemed almost desperate, a fact that was most perplexing to Tina. Brittany though just looked on with vacant eyes but a knowing smile, continuing to get changed into her zombie costume.

"No, I'm serious. The Football Team was floundering out there, Lauren can pack a punch but the rest of us going to ground didn't really accomplish much. Part way through the half everyone but Rachel lost sight of the ball and I guess she was fed up lying on the ground -I was too- and she just went for it. She scored the first touchdown. Then the next 3 as well." Tina was so matter of fact with her explanation of the nights events and Santana's brain had officially melted. _She's so tiny, how the hell hasn't she been murdered out there? Wait, the FUCK do I even care if she gets steam rolled, I should be happy._ Not even Santana could deny the fact that she was in fact, NOT happy with the prospect of a flattened Rachel.

Mercedes still hadn't processed the fact that Satan's hands hadn't dropped off yet. Annoying though she may be, Rachel was undeniably good and innocent. Santana just... Wasn't.

"Must you sound quite so surprised Santana? A bunch of neanderthals clashing heads aren't going to notice a girl running off with the ball are they?" Somehow, Rachel managed sounding affronted while still halfway hysterical. "I mean, I dance. I dance amazingly thank you very much. Is it so amazing that I can also run and jump over lumbering boys on a football field? It's quite like ballet now that I think about it. Exhilarating too."

_Only Rachel-freaking-Berry could liken Football of all things to ballet._ Santana thought with an audible eye roll. "Wait! Are you talking yourself into staying on the team?" She started laughing uproariously to disguise her unease with the thought. "You'd be smashed to itty bitty little pieces, not to say I don't relish the thought," I don't. "but don't you think you'd like to live to see if your fantasy of Broadway is anything more than that?"

"Are you saying I couldn't?" Rachel cocked a hand onto her hip in annoyance at Santana's implication.

"That's exactly what I'm saying Rachel." _Oh shit, I just fucking made it a competition. Shit. Stupid! She can't fucking resist now._ Santana was so busy berating herself in her head for the implications of her words that she didn't even realize she'd failed to call the budding Football Star by one of her usual nicknames. Everyone else in the room however, they heard this perfectly.

_She just called me Rachel, she's never called me by my actual name before. She seems so adamant I can't play too. If I didn't know better I'd say that she was concerned for my safety. Ha! Imagine that, cruel Santana Lopez worried about the well being of Rachel "Broadway" Berry._ She let out a mental sigh. _A girl can dream, right?_

"I am going to make you eat those words Santana. Just you wait and see."

* * *

_Why on earth did I think challenging Broadway like this would go over well? Nothing concerning that girl ever goes down well. If she even survives this practice, I'm going to kill her for putting me through this._ Santana sat in the bleachers having stayed after Cheerio practice. Normally Cheerios ran longer than Football practice did but with Jenny slipping during the routine and breaking her wrist, Sylvester begrudgingly sent the rest of the squad home. Sue Sylvester made the Cheerios practice come rain, hail or shine. Though the last hail practice induced several lawsuit scares from concerned parents so Figgins banned those. _My god._ A short bark of laughter._ I don't think she could look more miserable if she tried, I wonder if she's ever even SEEN rain in person before. Let alone been out in it. She looks like a drowned rat!_ Looking down at her own water logged uniform she came to the conclusion that she can't have looked too much better. At least she wasn't sporting a come within three foot of me and splash me with mud, you die glare though.

No, Santana was just the proud owner of the you hurt her, I'll rip your lips off and make them kiss your own balls glare as the team came to their next set of drills. Tackles. She could breathe a little easier as the two thirds shaved head of Puck came to stand protectively over Rachel as her tackle partner. She was outright laughing as Rachel took Puck down time and time again though. Even when he wasn't letting her. Turns out when a midget tackles you it lands around thigh/knee height. Not even Hercules could remain standing with a brunette blur taking his legs out from underneath him. Couple this with the traction, or lack there of, of wet grass and you get one muddy Puckerman. And one happy Santana. She thought with glee.

When they changed partners and Finn stepped up behind Rachel, Santana all but snarled her displeasure._ If Finnept so much as causes a grass stain I'm going to rip out his Finnards and strangle him with his own Finntestine._ As the first none too gentle tackle happened, Santana was forcefully reminded of another tackle not too long ago.

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Mercedes' and Tina's eyes were all but glued to the pacing form of Santana. Hair teased to look frightful and zombie make up running ever so slightly from the heat of their earlier performance, Santana sure looked a picture. Her own eyes were trained unwaveringly on Rachel out on the football field. Every time a lumbering player from the opposing team even glanced at her wrong it would elicit a gasp from the Latina's lips. The gossips were certain Santana was going to give herself a coronary, but for the life of them, neither could fully understand why. Since when has the Cheerio cared about Rachel?

Had she been aware of the scrutiny she was under, Santana would have schooled her features and watched the rest of the game with cold aloofness. At least, that's what she'd have told you she would have done. In reality though, there was no way she was going to be able to be impartial to the game unfolding before her eyes right now. With the very real possibility that, before the night ends, Rachel would end up in the ICU with a broken neck she couldn't deny her feelings._ Yes that's right world. HBIC Santana "Badass" Lopez has feelings for loser Rachel "Manhands" Berry_. Well, if she was going to start coming to terms with these feelings, she supposed she could start by stopping the name calling. At least in her head.

She had felt this way since the start of high school but attributed the heat she felt as jealousy of Rachel's singing ability and strength. When Quinn later started her quest to make Rachel's life an absolute living nightmare, Santana jumped right on board. Maybe taking her down a peg or two would make her feel better about herself and the jealousy will disappear. In hindsight, not the greatest plan the Latina has had but isn't that thing with hindsight; It's twenty-twenty. It became a depressing spiral for her. She'd go along with one of Quinn's schemes and end up feeling horrible for it but the worse she felt the more she'd lash out. Rachel was the origin of the confusing feelings and thus took the brunt of the anger. It would continue like this for months, getting progressively worse. Until the Titans made the championship game and Rachel stupidly put herself in harms way.

_Rachel, you are going to get yourself KILLED. What the hell is running through that thick skull of yours? Do you really have to prove me wrong so bad, that you're willing to die for it?_ Apparently it was because the next moment saw Rachel snatch the ball, literally, from under a players nose and start fleeing down the field. The crowd was loving it, as soon as she took off they were all on their feet screaming wildly. On the inside so was Santana, but not out of joy or anticipation. Santana was fairly certain she was going to be ill. Especially when a particularly heavy set defender started in on the Diva.

_Oh I could kiss you right now!_ The relief Santana felt as Zices blocked and all but knocked out the skin head oaf was palpable. She didn't even notice that she'd buried her fingernails into her palms and drawn blood. A lot of blood. No one else had the heart to tell her this and pop the bubble she was living in. Besides, they were all too scared to call her out on her concern for their glee star.

"Do you think she's lost it?" Tina was genuinely concerned that something in Santana's brain had broken, it was so alien to see her so emotional and over Rachel too. "I think she's going to cry soon if this keeps up."

"I think you're right girl. What do we do? I mean Rachel is completely transparent, everyone bar Finn and Brittany knows she has a soft spot for Santana. Heaven knows why she does but I feel like we need to protect her. Santana has a rep. I don't think Rachel could handle getting her heart ripped out of her chest by Satan." Mercedes was surprised when Brittany then made herself known.

"San wouldn't hurt her, she loves her. It's just like back in second grade when Timmy Reece used to pull my pig tails. He liked me. San doesn't pull her pig tails but she does do silly mean things to her to get her attention. I keep telling her to just sing something to her cause Rachy would really like that and she loves San too! I can see it in her eyes, they get all sparkly whenever San walks into the room. It reminds me a bit of Edward Cullen, their that sparkly and their both so gay for each other." Brittany nodded her head once in finality. "They will go out, San's too scared to lose her before she had her. She means more to San than her reputation even." With a shrug and flip of blonde hair, Brittany was gone and the two gossips were left awestruck in her wake.

"Okay so maybe Brittany does know."

"Yeah."

Meanwhile another daring play was happening on the field and Santana's face had taken on an ashen quality. It was fifty-fifty whether she'd last the 5 minutes until the end of the game and Rachel might not either. That skinhead Lauren failed to incapacitate was out for blood and Rachel once again had the ball tucked firmly under her arm. This time there was no cavalry to save her.

Santana saw it all happen in slow motion. Rachel's limited peripheral vision made it so that the bull charging toward her could do so undetected. She was a few strides away from the try line when the blob lunged at her, knocking her down and the ball flying. He landed with an audible thud directly on top Rachel's tiny frame, the crowd heard her pained squeal and fell deathly silent. Puck then charged forward and ripped the player off their diva, when there was no movement from the small singer the New Directions all heard the thump as Santana Lopez hit the ground unconscious. She would be informed later that Rachel was in fact okay and had come up with the psyche out technique that ultimately won the Titan's their first championship in many years.

* * *

When Rachel was focused on something she became blinded to almost all else, but even she wasn't blind to the fact the Santana had been sitting in the stands in the pouring rain for the better half of the last half hour watching them. It was exhilarating. Sure they'd reached some sort of understanding and had even started to forge a tentative friendship, but having the fiery Latina's eyes trained on her without the customary glare was still hard to come to terms with sometimes. In the best of ways.

After the championship game had been won and Rachel learnt of Santana's vigilant watch over her and the subsequent fainting spell, she rushed to the hospital to check that she was okay.

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Mercedes was the first to come up to her after the game reached its dramatic conclusion.

"Girl you were ah-mazing. Who knew you could play football right?" Was followed by the biggest hug Rachel was sure she had ever received in her life, which elicited a pained groan from the brunette.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you ok, Rach?" Having people legitimately care about her well being was refreshing, Rachel found. She didn't even have the need to exaggerate her injuries for the sake of some comforting.

"Just a couple scratches and bruises, nothing I can't handle Mercedes. Thanks! Your concern is very much appreciated." Rachel was looking around distracted as she spoke, hoping to catch the one person's eyes who really mattered tonight but she was no where to be found. "Hey, this may seem like a very out of character question coming from me, but where's Santana gotten off to? Surely even with me playing in the game she would have stuck around until it ended."

Tina and Mercedes exchanged worried glances which just set Rachel even more on edge. Her instincts where telling her something was not quite right about this situation.

Tina began to explain. "Rach, don't panic but we all know how you feel about Santana."

"I have no idea what you are trying to allude to-"

"You're in love with her." Mercedes got straight to the point.

"Oh." Was all Rachel could verbalize. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"We think she feels the same." Tina continued with a pointed glance at Mercedes, who at least looked a tad guilty at the deer in the headlights look Rachel now sported. "You were too busy freaking out but when you announced you were playing the rest of the game, Santana kinda started freaking out too. Then during the game she couldn't take her eyes off you. Any time someone got too close she'd panic and when you got tackled at the end then and screamed she kinda... fainted. She hit her head pretty hard and she didn't come to right away so they've taken her to the hospital. She should be ok though, the paramedics didn't seem too concerned." Tina put a supporting hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Would you like me to take you there to see how she is? I think you're fathers would understand."

_She fainted? Wait, she might feel the same? Oh god, I hope she's ok. Seriously? Fainted? I haven't been knocked unconscious from that tackle and am dreaming this right? This is really real?_ All she could manage on the outside for Tina however was a meek nod and a whispered "please".

Santana woke up groggily later that night, or rather earlier the next morning. _Oh god, was I hit by a mack truck? My head feels like fucking jackhammers are in it_. A soft snore brought her out of her own skull and she took in her surroundings. _Okay, I'm in a hospital. That means I'm not hung over. Good start. What happened?_ Then it all started flooding back._ Shit, the game! Rachel, is she okay?_ She started to panic until another light snuffle startled her and she found the person emanating those sounds was the object of her thoughts. _Fuck, she's okay! I can breathe now. I'm going to kill her!_ What she did in reality though was gently take the hand Rachel wasn't using as a pillow and ran her unoccupied fingers ever so gently through the starlets dark hair. _Hmm it's so soft, she must have gotten a shower before coming. Hey, that raises a point: What the hell is she doing here? At my bedside asleep._ Unconsciously, Rachel started mewling in her sleep at the feel of Santana's fingers in her hair and the Latina just about melted into a puddle where she lay._ Well, if that isn't the cutest thing. God, what's happening to me, I'm going soft._ Another content moan. _Only for her though._

Santana wasn't sure how long she sat there gently caressing her scalp, but by the time Rachel awoke dawn's light was just breaking through the window. A soft smile contently upturned the corners of Santana's mouth as Rachel shut her eyes tighter before attempting to stretch, only to find that her hand was held captive. The diva's eyes shot open comically wide and sought out Santana's.

"Hey." Slipped unabashed from Santana's mouth, tone silky smooth and amused. "Not a morning person then I take it?" She quipped. "I'll make sure to remember that." Nodding once to herself she waited patiently for Rachel to stop staring and for her brain to appropriately engage.

"Hello." Santana wasn't used to hearing so little from the normally so verbose brunette and said as much.

"You're really not a morning person, are you?" Smiling like the cat that got the cream, Santana resumed her patient watch over Rachel as she looked away shyly.

"With the events of the last twenty four hours I think I can be excused one bout of speechlessness don't you?" Without pausing for a response Rachel continued. "I mean, you leave glee. Then half the Football Team quits before the championship game and Blaine tells us that we only need four more players so the rest of the team still gets to play. So of course us glee girls volunteer our services as replacements and I find out I'm actually really good at football believe it or not. Coach Bieste asks me to play on even once you and the rest of the football team return. You flip out, hold me by the shoulders and call me Rachel all in the same minute. We kick ass in our half time performance. I keep playing the game, fearing for my life and loving it in the same moment. I get crushed by some sweaty, stinky neanderthal and didn't that just hurt. Then I come up with a plan to potentially psyche out the opponents and win the game, and it works. Then I find out you've been watching me like a hawk the whole game getting whiter and whiter and faint when I got tackled. Tina rushes me here and I learn you're okay and I can stay the night to be here when you wake up. I wake up with my hand in yours, your other in my hair and you're smiling at me sweetly." Pausing only for breath and to shoot Santana a comically frantic look she continues. "So yes, I do believe I am FULLY within my rights to take a moment to wrap my head around the fantastically strange situation I have found my self the center of."

During the course of her rant Santana's eyebrows rose further into her hairline as her grin spread. "You finished now? Feel better?"

Rachel's hurt look lasted only a second before she turned thoughtful and said "actually, yes. Thank you."

"Good." It was Santana's turn to look hard at Rachel. "Not that I'm complaining, but just what the hell ARE you doing here Broadway? I've been nothing but horrible to you for months, yet you're the one I find sleeping beside me in the hospital." She sighed. "I just don't get it."

Rachel's smile lights up the room. "I like that nickname." She turns solemn then, "I don't get it either really. You have treated me horribly." A wince. "But everybody has treated me horribly, you were just the repeat offender and I know not all those times where because you wanted to. Quinn put you up to half of them, you were only half willing. I could tell." A shrug from Rachel. "Besides, you fainted and were taken to the hospital because you thought I was seriously injured. I'm a sucker for theatrics so you win a lot of points for that one." A disbelieving bark of laughter.

"You're kidding? I just... What? You're not forgiving me just like that are you?"

"No..."

Another wince. "I guess I walked into that one didn't I."

Rachel smiled sympathetically as she finished her sentence. "But you're well on your way to earning it."

Soft smiles were shared and both became aware at the same time that their hands were still joined. Santana let go and averted her eyes with a self conscious cough, a blush coloring her cheeks. None of that going unnoticed by Rachel but she decided to take pity on the injured girl in the bed and not bring it up, which Santana was grateful for.

"I wanna -" "Do you actually -"

Both girls started simultaneously. Rachel waved her hand for Santana to go ahead and say what she was going to say.

Taking a deep breath Santana was able to choke out "I wanna start over, you know. Maybe try being friends. I hate the way I treated you and I wanna make you see that. I'm sorry." That's so hard to say but I mean every word.

"I'd like that. I'd very much like to take you up on that Santana. Shall we start our new friendship with maybe seeing a movie?"

So for the next 3 weeks that's what Rachel and Santana did. They watched movies. They talked. They became friends in every sense of the word but there was always that tension lying just underneath the surface. Both wanted more but neither wanted to be the one to potentially screw up the one purely good thing they had in their lives at the moment. As the age old adage goes, however, all good things come to an end. What they don't tell you is that sometimes that happens to pave the way to even greater things.

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_Finnsolent I am going to ends you!_

Finn's tackling ability was second only to his innate ability to cross lines and piss off Santana in that moment. His tackle knocked Rachel clean off her feet and onto her back with a loud thud. Everything went silent, everyone stopped practice to look over and check that Rachel was ok. No one noticed one very pissed off Latina barreling onto the field until it was too late.

With a sickening crack Santana's fist connected squarely with Finn's jaw, knocking the boy off his feet and into the puddle of mud forming behind him from the rain. Santana's next order of business was to check on Rachel, throbbing hand be damned! The school was still pondering this new relationship between the girls but when one of them knocks out the star quarterback, the rest of the team were smart enough to leave them alone for now.

"Shit Rach, are you ok? Please say something. You're killing me here." Gently patting a mud covered cheek, Santana was starting to get anxious. Until Rachel spoke up. Then she was just plain shocked.

"Did you break his jaw?" Her eyes locked onto Santana's. "That was really hot, even though I don't condone violence."

Santana was slack jawed but it was only going to get worse as Rachel continued to speak her mind.

"You're my hero sometimes, you know that? I guess I should give you an appropriate reward for standing up for me." She tapped her chin in mock thought as Santana, still stunned, just looked on. She was holding her breath in anticipation."I suppose if I'm going with the hero cliche I should give you a kiss as your reward shouldn't I? Would that be to your satisfaction?" At this point, Santana couldn't care less that the whole football team was there or that Rachel was teasing her. She was powerless to do anything but nod her head and hope for the best, having Rachel take such a bold move was doing things to Santana that she would never admit to.

Hoping for the best seemed like it payed off for Santana because the next thing she knew, was Rachel's soft, warm lips sliding deliciously against her own.

The last coherent thought that ran through Rachel's mind before she experience just how romantic kissing in the rain was, was simply Murphy eat you're heart out.

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**I must say I do love coming up with new Finnuendos! I think I may just write a very short chapter fic on that premise. Santana's quest to come up with a new one everyday for a week or so. What do you think?**

**Anyway, please take the time to write even just a tiny review if you managed to get all the way through this. Your thoughts are always very much appreciated.**

**Again, I just feel obliged to point out all mistakes are undoubtedly my own and though I do try to diligently remove all that are glaringly obvious, I can't get them all. Please feel free to point them out to me, it'll help me!**

**Hopefully happy reading!**


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